Vietnam (Day 4) Part 3

  

It was really fun traveling through the canals on the small boat.  We would get right up close to the banks where I could see little fish darting in and out of holes in the mud and even climbing the roots and trees.

Also it provided the perfect setting for stereotypical tourist in Vietnam photos.

We then arrived at a coconut candy making factory.  Unfortunately, it was more of a tourist trap than educational, but it was still somewhat interesting.  It looked like the process of making the candy was similar to making taffy.  The result was a caramel like candy that had coconut flavoring.

Coconut meat extraction.

Heating the milk.

Stirring and thickening.

Poured out into strips to cool.

Finally it is cut into squares and wrapped.

Lunch was quite an adventure!  There were many courses including spring rolls that were made at the table as part of a demonstration.  

The delicious food attracted a little friend who I happily fed table scraps to.  

I also used the antenna from the shrimp to play with the kitty.  haha

After lunch, we had an hour to nap which I thought was a fantastic idea!  Then we made our way back out of the delta canals to the bus.  I took lots of pictures on the drive back while listening to travel tunes on my neglected iPod.  

One of the neat things about this time of year is that the rice harvest are going on.  As we drove, we saw the different stages of rice growth, harvesting, and replanting.  

Another interesting thing I saw was the graves that often were placed in the middle of the fields.  It is a common practice for people to ask to be buried on their land that they spent their life working.  This has a whole host of significant meanings.  The choice to be buried on their land shows the pride they took in their work, ensures that their kids and grandkids won't sell the land, and gives the kids and grandkids piece of mind that their ancestors spirit is protecting their land.  I thought that was kind of beautiful.